An invaluable source of continuity and mentor for the team’s blue-line corps since joining the Colorado College staff in 2000-01, Joe Bonnett has helped launch the professional careers of more than a dozen defensemen during his tenure with the team.
Three of his protégés – Tom Preissing, Mark Stuart and Jack Hillen – earned All-America accolades before leaving CC. Preissing set an NCAA single-season goal scoring record for defensemen with 23 tallies as a senior in 2002-03, while Stuart and Hillen both were honored as Defensive Player of the Year in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Those three are among seven former Tiger “D” men who have competed at the sport’s highest level, joining Richard Petiot, Lee Sweatt, Kris Fredheim and Nate Prosser in reaching the National Hockey League for various durations. An ever-increasing number of others – including Brian Salcido, Brian Connelly, Jake Gannon, Ryan Lowery and Gabe Guentzel – continue to pursue that ultimate goal while under professional contract with NHL minor-league affiliates.
Heading into the 2013-14 season, Bonnett’s 14th as an assistant coach under Scott Owens, Colorado College has reaped seven bids to the NCAA playoffs, claimed three WCHA regular-season championships and won 299 games – an average of 23 victories per campaign – since his arrival.
His impact is felt in all aspects of the program. Not only is Bonnett active in recruiting and on-ice instruction, but he alsoplays a major role in practice preparation, team video, advanced scouting reports and individual teaching clips for the players. His main focus lies in team transition, defensive schemes and skill development of the blue-line corps. Under his guidance, CC’s team defense has finished as high as sixth and its penalty kill fourth nationwide at seasons’ end. In 2013-14, senior Mike Boivin led all defensemen nationwide with 14 goals while earning second-team All-WCHA accolades.
While helping to maintain the flow of top hockey talent at Colorado College, Bonnett has been involved in recruiting quality students as well. More than five dozen players were named to the All-WCHA All-Academic Team in the last 13 years. In addition, 15 garnered WCHA Scholar-Athlete distinction a total of 27 times before the Tigers left the league.
Bonnett previously spent four seasons (1997-01) as recruiting coordinator at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he was instrumental in shaping the the program’s future and successfully lured the 2003-04 CCHA Player of the Year in forward Derek Edwardson. He started his post-graduate career as associate head coach of the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings (NAHL), guiding them to an appearance in the 1994 Junior “A” national tournament. He then served as a volunteer assistant at Miami for two seasons (1995-96 and ‘96-97) while completing his master’s degree in sport organization. The RedHawks received a bid to the NCAA tournament in 1997.
In his own collegiate days, Bonnett lettered for four seasons as a forward at Western Michigan University (1989–93) and served as an assistant captain his senior year. A 1993 graduate of Western, where he received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, he was named WMU’s Most Improved Player as a junior in 1991-92, then was named recipient of the program’s Catherine Lawson Sportsmanship Award as a senior in 1992-93.
Over the years, Bonnett has built extensive experience as a volunteer with USA Hockey during the summer months. That includes work with the Rocky Mountain Festival in Salt Lake City, which annually attracts top players – such as recent Tiger standouts Richard Bachman and Mike Testwuide – from throughout the region. He also has served as a head coach for Team Michigan and Rocky Mountain districts at national select -14, -15, -16 and -17 festivals. In 1999, his select-16 team Michigan won a gold medal in St. Cloud, Minn. In 2003, Bonnett served as an assistant coach with the United States under-17 select team that won the gold medal at the 2003 Five Nations Tournament in Prievidza, Slovakia.
The Canton, Mich., native and his wife, Laura, will celebrate their 13th anniversary in June. They are the proud parents of two young sons, Noah and Samuel, as well as a daughter, Vivian, born in late March 2011.
